For Christmas my sister gave me two amazing gifts – one was a tea leaf strainer in the form of a green Loch Ness monster (called “Baby Nessie”) and the other was Robert Holden’s new book, Higher Purpose.
Disclaimer! No copyright infringement is intended. For more information see my disclaimer page, and for any queries or concerns, contact me at [email protected].
January is often a time of New Year’s resolutions and the beginnings of new habits. There’s a freshness that sparks action.
So I thought this would be a great time to do my first book review!
The TLDR version of it is, 9½ out of 10, would read again (multiple times) and it’s going on my shelf with my very favourite books on it.
Higher Purpose & Robert Holden
After attending a free online four-day “Higher Purpose” event hosted by Robert Holden courtesy of Hay House, I put his book straight on my book wish list. The four days of delving into life purpose were enlightening, with one hour of thought-provoking content each day and actionable steps to recognise our purpose.
For background, you can find out more about Robert Holden, PhD here.
The structure of the book follows a similar structure to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey (a strong theme in this book), and includes four main sections: The call, the path, the ordeal, and the victory. It’s a simple structure, with clear chapter focuses and clear headings within those chapters that makes it easy to follow. I enjoyed the flow of the book.
Robert Holden’s writing style is simple and readable by a wide audience, as well as having a poetic flair with a lovely flow. I’m not usually one for poetry, but I enjoyed how he included his poems at various intervals, and my favourite poem was one included that his wife Hollie had written, which was beautiful.
Since reading this book, I’ve rediscovered the poems of William Wordsworth, with a particular interest in the poems about nature (no surprises there I’m sure). The works and quotes that Robert Holden draws upon to highlight points and expand our understanding of the concepts discussed added another layer to the book that enhanced his message.
I also loved the stories of people and his own personal stories that highlighted his points. As he quotes Muriel Rukeyser, “The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” (pg. 63).
I know there’s that whole don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover thing, but I am going to mention that I really like the cover design. One of the worst things, for me, about some self-help or personal development or spiritual teaching books is to have the author’s smiling face plastered over the front. Nothing wrong with it or anything, it just wigs me out and honestly puts me off buying the book.
Let’s be honest though, we may not judge a book by its cover, but cover design (and title) have an impact on whether someone wants to buy a book or read it. This book has an uplifting (and pretty) cover design that is simple and appealing, with beautiful colours.
The reason for the 9½ score rather than 10 was because towards the end there was a heavy religious aspect which didn’t really resonate with me. I didn’t really vibe with A Course in Miracles, which he’s very into and draws a lot of inspiration from. This is an absolutely personal thing, and I greatly respect his beliefs that he’s included in this book. It wasn’t so heavily religious that I couldn’t read it, and I could still take the bits that resonated and leave the bits that didn’t. That comes with the territory of reading these kinds of spiritual, self-help, personal development writings, whatever form they come in whether book or blog article or anything else.
So, did it help with Life Purpose?
Yes, absolutely. Not only did it help with life purpose, but there were some additional nuggets of golden thread woven in there.
This book has prompted me to look into my own personal biography from the work of Rudolf Steiner, what has happened at the turning points of my septimal (seven year) cycles, and what’s happening now that’s big in my life being at the beginning of another seven year cycle (at 28). I’m paying attention to the big changes, transitions, and life events that have and are steering me along the path of my higher purpose.
It also helped me reconnect with following my joy, a big theme in Robert Holden’s work, as well as redefining success for myself, and the importance of love.
I’d heard of the enneagram before, but thought it was yet another personality test or something. I don’t really know what it was but I wasn’t really interested. But I decided to give it a go after the four-day online workshop, and found it a really insightful tool. For example, I now know that I’m an enneagram type 4 (the individualist), which is helping me know myself better. If you’re interested, I’d definitely recommend exploring the enneagram, especially as a complementary resource to “The Enneagram Chapter” in the book – yes, there’s a whole chapter devoted to the enneagram.
With over 200 pages packed with value, it’s worth a read especially if you’re interested in or having difficulties with life purpose.
Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved this book and would 100% recommend it for anyone who wants to, as the subtitle says, “Find more inspiration, meaning and purpose in your life.”
It took me a while to recognise and uncover my purpose to now start living it, and I honour the journey and still believe in divine right timing. But honestly this book would’ve been really helpful!
In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and the broader work of Robert Holden, and would definitely recommend.
If you’ve read this book and want to discuss it, please feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email at [email protected]. I’d love to hear your quiet and curious thoughts. Or if you have any questions or comments, those are most welcome too.
For extra content, updates and other good stuff, you’re warmly invited to join The Quiet and Curious folk community by signing up to the email newsletter below:
Much love from me,
P.S. This is Baby Nessie in action!
